check this out... im finishing a resto on a 73 cuda im now working out the bugs. this bug has got me super stumped. heres the issue. its a 23 spline trans. it shifts fine when turned off. but when started it wont shift. so i pulled the universal and when started it shifts fine with out the universal in. the yoke fits nice and slides nice into place. im wondering if the yoke is too far in it might be jamming something. but i dont beleive thats the problem since i tried lifting the car and on the ground while trying to get it to work properly. any help is highly appreciated

The clutch may not be disengaging completely, or you are not giving trans internals enough time to stop once pushing pedal down.

yeah my next step i figure is to pull the trans and see whats going on with the clutch because i just tried to start the car with the clutch depressed and the trans in 1st. it started fine but whether the clutch is in or out it seems the wheels want to turn. but the wheels turn kinda funky like something is fighting them from spinning freely. well im heading back in the shop to pull it and ill see whats going on and get back with you on it. thank you

You have the clutch disc in backwards.

i just pulled the trans. clutch disc was installed correctly i pulled the plate and disc and the disc slides nicely on the spline. the throw out slides nicely on the shaft. i cant figure this out! i did have a prolemn when pulling the trans where it would not want to pull out of the pilot bearing. i actually had to put 2 tie straps on either side of bellhouse and the rear frame and crank them down to get the trans to slide out. even with both straps cranked tight it still did not want to pull out. with tension on both straps i put a crow bar in the space between the block and bellhouse and she popped out. i know it had to be hung up in the pilot because i removed all the bolts to the pressure plate and it still would not pull out. im thinking it was suction in the crank because it was filled with grease. i stuck my finger in the hole and i could feel suction when i pulled it out. but it had to be a bunch of suck there to hold it like it did. also the disc could not have been backwards because it sat nicely on the flywheel when installed and if i flip it it hits the flywheel bolts and sticks out a half inch. the only thing i can think of is the pressure plate which is new. maybe it dont release pressure off the disc when pedal is down. any suggestions is appreciated. ill try anything right now. my next move is to take the trans to the guy who rebuilt it. thank you for any help you can offer.

Did you put a new pilot bearing/bushing in it. When the clutch pedal is out and tires are spinning can you hit the brakes to stop the wheels without the motor stalling. If you replaced the pilot bearing/bushing it might just be tight and needs to burn in. If you didn't replace the pilot bearing/ bushing maybe you need to.

It seems the problem lies with the throwout bearing and input bearing retainer. You should not have to pry things apart...unless you dropped the tail end of the trans while removing it and bent something.

If the trans shifts fine when th eengine is not running, I wouldn't worry about the trans internals.

Did you adjust the clutch disc airgap to spec when you installed it?

yes. i replaced the pilot bearing. i tested on the shaft before installing and it fit great. my problem is that the tires stuggle to turn when the pedal is out. they turn intermitently even if i rev the engine its as if somethings not right. even with the pedal down the tires turn the same way. i did feel te end of the shaft and it seems like it may be slightly fatter at the end just efore it starts to cone down. and keep in mind it wont shift into gear when the engine is started. but shifts great when not running. and it shifts great when the universal is removed when running. i know....it dont make sense. but thats what its doing

Yep. That's way too much pressure on the input shaft. How did you put it in there? Did you stab it as far as it would go then crank on the bellhousing bolts to pull the transmission in?

That tight of a bushing will spin the input shaft when the clutch should let it spin. You might as well have never hit the clutch.
Fix that and the problem should go away.

I'd hate to see what kind of thrust load you were putting on that input shaft bearing. It probably had everything stacked up tight in there.

well you may be onto something because i have no idea what the disc airgap is? i always thought you use the clutch alignment tool and bolt the plate in

i did stab it and it was about half to 3/4 inch from the block. you think when the pilot went in tight it changed the i.d. of the pilot? if so how would you remedy the issue?

Cut about 1/8 inch off the transmission input shaft where it goes into the pilot. It is bottoming out in the crankshaft and binding up.

you think i could use some emery cloth on the input shaft to get it to slide in easier?

Are the bushings in the z-bar new? Did you adjust the pedal free play?

yes z bar and bushings are new as well as the fork pivot pilot throw out disc plate aduster and rod are all new as well and i did adjust the pedal play with the aduster at the fork

sounding more like the shaft is binding in the pilot. ill try using some emery cloth tomorrow to grind the fat part of the shaft down. ill also do some measuring to see if the shaft is bottoming out in the crank.

bolt the trans in without the clutch/flywheel, trans in neutral.

see if you can turn the input shaft by hand (if your bellhousing allows you too)

Some general purpose ramblings from the nearly senile.

First, carefully measure the depth of the pilot from the bell face, as well as the length of the input shaft back to the bell face of the transmission.

Next, pull the clutch cover and disc OUT and install ONLY the transmission with no clutch.

Now you can put the box in HIGH gear, and with a yoke in the tail, you tell if the pilot is binding in the bushing.

If/ when you get this to check out, are you able to see into the bottom of the bell, I.E. do you have a stock bell or scattershield?

If you can see into the bell, take a friend to push the pedal all the way down, and measure iwth a feeler to see how much release clearance you have.

If you cannot see what's happening for sure, find yourself a "real" clutch rebuilder---they ARE around---and have them check the clutch. They'll need your cover and disc, and maybe your flywheel.

It DOES happen that covers don't release because of some problem


As others have mentioned, check your clutch linkage from top to bottom. Have a friend push the clutch in/ out SLOWLY and repeatedly while you look at such areas as the welds on the Z bar linkage, etc, or for other flexing. Even the clutch fork can sometimes crack and flex

I was thinking the same thing. Sounds like something is pushing the crank against the thrust bearing and making it hard to start. The OP may just want to check that bearing to see if there is any evidence of damage.